Michael Cohen is an urban and development policy specialist. He worked at the World Bank from 1972 to 1999 and was responsible for much of the bank’s urban policy development during that period. Mr. Cohen has worked in 55 countries and was heavily involved in the World Bank’s work on infrastructure, environment, and sustainable development. His numerous published works include several books on urban development, Africa, and the impact of development assistance. Mr. Cohen has advised governments, NGOs, and academic institutions around the world. He was a member of the Infrastructure Panel and Urban Dynamics Panel of the US National Academy of Science. He has helped the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT) prepare its Global Report on Human Settlements in 2005-2012. He is currently the director of The New School’s Observatory on Latin America.

Courses Taught:

Global Flows

Comparative Development Experience

Tsunamis, Monsoons, and Hurricanes

Infrastructure and Environment

Urban Century: Theory and Practice

State, Market, and Development Strategy in Latin America

Recent Publications:

Argentina's Economic Growth and Recovery: The Economy in a Time of Default, (London and New York: Routledge, 2012). (Author)

The Global Crisis in Latin America: Impacts and Response, (London and New York: Routledge, 2012). (Editor)

Latin America on the Move: The Post Neoliberal Transition, Buenos Aires: Ediciones Infinito, 2007) also published in Spanish. (Co-Editor with Margarita Gutman)

Argentina in Collapse? The Americas Debate, (Buenos Aires and New York: The New School and the International Institute for Environment and Development, 2003), also published in Spanish. (Co-editor with Margarita Gutman)